Spain Fujitsu Services signs contract to acquire majority interest in German IT Services company TDS AG

Fujitsu Services, the European IT services arm of the Fujitsu Group, today signed a contract to acquire investor General Atlantic’s stake in TDS AG for a purchase price of € 2.80 per share. The contract will become effective after antitrust clearance. Further shareholders have offered to sell their shares to Fujitsu alongside General Atlantic. This will take Fujitsu’s shareholding to 79.1 percent, making it the majority shareholder in TDS AG.

The deal is a significant landmark in Fujitsu’s 40 year history in the region and further strengthens the company’s position in the market as well as demonstrates its ongoing European growth ambitions. The operations of Fujitsu and TDS will be a significant force in the German market focusing on an integrated and already complementary portfolio which includes: IT outsourcing; HR services and solutions; desktop managed services; IT infrastructure and IT consulting.

Andrew MacNaughton, managing director continental Europe, Fujitsu Services, commented: “This is a key milestone in our growth strategy for Europe. Our stake in TDS AG will enable us to harness our collective strengths and help us to become one of the top IT services players in Germany.”

Fujitsu’s IT services revenues add up to more than 14 billion Euros which positions it as number three in the worldwide IT services market. Fujitsu Services, Fujitsu’s European IT services arm has a presence in 20 countries and employs 18,000 people across Europe, 300 of them in Germany. In the year ending 31st March 2006 Fujitsu Services had revenues of 3.3 billion Euros. TDS AG had revenues of 93 million Euros in its fiscal year 2005 and employs more than 700 people across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Customers will now benefit from TDS’s market leading expertise in all aspects of HR Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), its proven SAP skills base, IT outsourcing and experience in IT consulting and Fujitsu’s focus on design, development and operation of flexible IT infrastructure services.

“This acquisition is the first step on an exciting journey for Fujitsu Services in Germany,” says Winfried Holz, CEO of Fujitsu Services GmbH. He continues, “We have ambitious growth plans across Europe and I am very pleased to welcome more than 700 new colleagues who will help invigorate our presence in the German marketplace. Together we will offer both existing and new customers the opportunity to benefit from our combined strengths which will form the basis for sustainable growth and opportunities for all moving forward.”

“By joining forces with a strong global player, we will be able to offer our entire range of services to large international companies,” says Michael Eberhardt, CEO of TDS, “The fit of our respective offerings is perfect and will allow us to capitalise on the opportunities the IT services market presents in the future.”

The transaction with Fujitsu Services is the result of General Atlantic’s strategic review announced in June 2006 and carried out since then. A mandatory offer for the acquisition of the remaining shares of TDS will be made to their shareholders at the minimum price prescribed by law after antitrust clearance is obtained. The purchase price per share is 14% above the last trading price on Friday.